Nintendo DSi tech specs

The first thing you'll notice about the new Nintendo DSi is the oveall size - the new console is about 12% thinnner than the DS Lite which means, sadly, that the GameBoy Advance software slot has been removed. To make up for this, Nintendo have announced that many of the DS Lite games will be compatible with the DSi.

Another major improvement seen in the DSi is the screen size. This has been increased by 8% to 3.25" without compromising on the DS Lites weight or size. On top of this, Nintendo have also managed to improve the speaker volume and sound quality.

The inclusion of both a camera and an audio player function in the DSi means this games console will have a huage range of potential options that can be bolted on in future. Admittedly, the camera resolution is only 0.3 megapixels right now but the DSi Camera software includes 11 types of special camera lenses. This lets you take pictures utilising a range of special effects, then can change the colours, style and layout of the picture i.e. to black and white, colour only the areas you touch, swap existing colours for a new one on the area you touch, make composite pictures using frames (create your own or use the preinstalled frames)...the choices are almost endless.

The DSi Sound, a builtin audio player, has been designed to more than just an ordinary audio playback mechanism in mind. This cool new feature lets users modify their sounds and music - as they play it back! Included in this functionality is the ability to change the pitch and the speed separately by using the Touch Screen. Want to learn to play a musical intstrument? You can do just that by combining the repeat-run function and the stylus, which makes it easier to copy the music, to play a musical instrument or even to help you practice foreign languages. The Nintendo DSi also accepts an SD memory card and can be used in conjunction with both the camera and audio player functions. To make use of Nintendo DSi Sound, you will need to store sound data in the AAC format on an SD card. If you've created pictures with Nintendo DSi Camera and stored them on an SD card you can view them on Wii by using its Wii Photo Channel. Don't worry if you've forgotten to store your pictures on an SD card - as with the Wii, the Nintendo DSi has internal memory which allows you to store data on the console. All you have to do is activate this data from the menu screen. 

If you want to give the Nintendo DSi that truly personal touch, you can download new software through DSi Shop. This facility, which is similar to the Wii Shop Channel, lets you pull down software and take it with you wherever you go without dragging a bag full of games behind you! As the very first software title to be offered through DSi Shop, Nintendo will start distributing the DSi Browser free of charge simultaneously with the launch of DSi. The DSi Browser is an Internet browser, co-developed by Opera and Nintendo and comprehensively tuned exclusively for Nintendo DSi. This tuning made the browser faster, and now that it can be incorporated into the device, the utility aspect has been significantly enhanced.

The second piece of software that can be downloaded free of charge is Moving Notepad. This application lets users create hand-written memos - but we don't mean ordinary notes, we're talking about using the power of technology to bring your notes to life, literally. For example, you can create cut-off animations, and then, by using the microphone to record voices, this cut-off animation can talk! Pretty cool, eh?

Nintendo has released few technical details regarding the DSi system. The company has improved some of the DSi's hardware (compared to the DS Lite), such as the main CPU and the RAM. Nintendo have stated that to improve portability without sacrificing durability, the front slot for Game Boy Advance (GBA) cartridges has been removed. As a result, the unit has lost its backward compatibility with GBA Game Paks and its compatibility with accessories that require the GBA slot, such as the Nintendo DS Rumble Pak, as well as the Guitar Hero: On Tour and Guitar Hero: On Tour Decades grip, which is required to play those games.The CPU has been moved and the battery housing raised to cut down on unused space.

• CPUs: main CPU is an ARM processor(running at 133 MHz)
• RAM: 16 MB of RAM
• Storage:256 MB of internal Flash memory (plus an SD/SDHC card expansion slot)
• Wireless: 802.11 internal wireless connectivity.

Make sure you head on over to our Nintendo DSi reviews page before you leave and see what owners have to say about this fantastic games console...